Always Wanting What is Not (Reaction #7)

                        

After being discovered Mexico was colonized by the British and the Spaniards during the colonial era. Pearls became a currency for the people, men would go out in their boats and dive down into the water in search of clams that held the perfect pearl.  “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck tells a story of a young family, just beginning with next to nothing, besides a little hut to live in. After finding a perfect pearl the whole village hears of it. Although it seems like it will give the family a perfect life, it just turns everything bad. Evil consumes the family that only wanted more and more, until finally they realize the pearl is nothing but a curse.

In the novel Steinbeck makes a point of personifying the town that the protagonist live in. “A town is a thing like a colonial animal. A town has a nervous system and a head and shoulders and feet,” I appreciated this. It made the town feel whole, like they were all one person and they all cared about each other. It seems that this doesn’t really happen anymore, I barely know the people down the block, let alone my whole town. The whole town supported Kino when he went to sell his Pearl, and they all grieved for him when they thought he was dead. They were all in the same boat, their land was being taken over by colonizers and people that were cheating them of their money and they only had each other. Ones happiness was everyone's happiness, and ones sorrow was everyone's sorrow.

Since the whole town knew about Kinos newest fortune, they worried about him, none of them wanted his riches to go to his head. There was a lot of foreshadowing,  the readers know that Kino would turn crazy with power from his new found fortune, he believed everyone was out to get him and his pearl, he trusted no one. They had to run away from the town, the one thing that had supported his family for his whole life, because of a Pearl that he wouldn't get rid of.  In the end the one thing that he believed would make his life so much better, actually made it a nightmare.

The novel reminds its readers that always wanting more is not always a good thing. When you have too much you are punished. It reminded me of a poem that I used for poem in a pocket day in elementary school. It went like this:

As a rule man is a fool,

When its hot, he wants it cool.

When its cool. he wants it hot.

Always wanting what is not.

The poem tells its readers that mankind is never happy with what they have, although they think they might want something, once they have it they want something else.  Once they had found the amazing pearl they thought of what they would do with it. Kino wanted to sell it for 50 thousand pesos, he wanted to be able to actually marry his wife, afford clothing for his child, and a good education for him. Its sad that in the end they get none of this, but the whole message was that they should yearn for more and more.

    Steinbeck created this novel to teach his readers a lesson, be happy with what you have,  and don't be greedy. The one thing I would have changed about the novel is how in the end they lose the one thing that mattered most to both Kino and Juana, and it wasn’t the pearl. If only they had gotten rid of the Pearl Sooner, Juana knew it would cause nothing but trouble to the family, she was trying to avoid the death of her precious.

Revenge is Sweet like Apples(Poetry reaction #6)

      

Anger can cause some people to do very irrational things. When some people are angry at another person, especially when they feel they have wronged them, they may want to take revenge on that person. In William Blake's poem “A Poison Tree” he shows his readers someone trying to deal with their foe. This poem intrigued me by its title, and how unordinary the title was. A poisonous tree what could that possibly mean? After reading the poem I realized how nicely it was written, and how dark it really is.

I felt kind of connected while reading the poem, Blake wrote a poem about something everyone's been through, feeling angry, and wanting revenge. I always find that the darker poems really lure people in, it makes them think more then another poem do, like poems about war or about just going to the store.  There are so many themes people could write about, but I believe the two most read topics are love and hatred, at least for myself. They are usually about emotions everyone experiences throughout their life. Its easier to get the point and connect with the speaker because the reader has gone through that emotion before themselves.

Blake starts off with showing the readers a contrast between being angry with a friend, and being angry with an enemy. When two friends fight they make up, because they care about each other, but when someone and the person they dislike fight, it just adds to how much they dislike the person. Its easy to tell that the speakers foe is probably a stealer, the speaker knew this, and he set up a trap for him. It shares the message that you have to think ahead of your opponent. Be one step in front of the other guy. The speaker knew that if he grew a tree of fruit that looks so delicious, his foe would take it. He created a poison apple that his foe had no idea about, and he was finally able to get back at him for whatever he did.  My mother always comes home complaining someone drank her soda that she left in the fridge at work, I tell her to put something in it and leave it there. Someone is bound to drink it. Its just not fair when people get pushed around for so long, they get fed up with everything. Revenge seems like a good idea when your brain is fogged up with so much anger.

    The poem is so eerie, it starts off pleasant, talking about how fights between friends never last, they forgive and forget, but then it talks about how when foes fight is is not forgotten. It leads to revenge, or taking action. Theres no way to forget being wronged by someone you hate so much, you just start to hate them more and more. Although the poem does have a really  great flow, it comes off the tongue so nicely because of its rhyme scheme, and then it ends abruptly with death(spoilers).  It was an exciting poem, you kinda root for the speaker, he’s finally able to get rid of his enemy once and for all, he won't be able to bother him anymore.

Sometimes you just Need to Reread It (Reaction #6)

“The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is set in the 1640’s Massachusetts Bay colony. During the time the novel was set in adultery was  looked down upon, of course it still is but it does not involve a whole town, like it used to. I had first read this novel in 10th grade, and I was very confused by everything that happened in it. Reading it over, now that i'm older I realize how much symbolism is in it, the meteor, Pearl, even the scarlet letter itself. Hawthorne’s novel is definitely for an older audience, with a dictionary close by, once you truly understand the book you can enjoy it much more!

One of the main things that really confused me when I first reading the novel was the significance of the meteor. While reading it I realized it had actually somehow traced out the letter A in the red sky, much like what Hester had on her chest.  I believe this signifies that Mr. Dimmesdale needed to accept his own punishment for adultery, he was suffering in secrecy, while Hester had to do it all by herself. Right after Pearl had asked him if he would stay on the stage all night until the morning and his answer was no, the meteor appeared, like a sign, from a higher power, a supernatural power.  Mr.Dimmesdale needed to show the town that he was the father of Pearl, but he wasn’t because he didn't want to ruin his reputation.

Pearl becomes the a personified Scarlet letter for both Hester and Mr.Dimmesdale. Hester is reminded everyday that she committed a sin, adultery, by not only the red letter that finds home on her chest, but by her own daughter. Pearl also becomes Mr.Dimmesdale's scarlet letter, although they aren’t usually around each other, any time they are, she reminds him of the wrongdoing he committed. Although Mr.Dimmesdale held in his secret for so long, eventually he does show the rest of the town his own scarlet letter, then finally he is accepted by Pearl, his scarlet letter.  

    While re-reading this novel I realized how much It reminded me of other novels I have already read. The first one that came into mind was the Crucible, which was about the Salem Witch Trials. It just seemed like the characters in the novel liked to relate everything to magic, and witches, and the devil. In the Salem witch trials they did this too, they believed that witches were real and anything they couldn’t explain was witchery. Upon more research I found that Hawthorne was actually related to John Hathorne, a judge during the trials. Hawthorne was probably fascinated by the fact that he was related to a man that was such an influence during the time that he believed he could write a novel that could have been set during that time.

    One thing I like about these reactions is that we are able to dive deeper into novels, we are able to focus on things that we usually don't.  I was very hesitant to read this book again, I disliked it so much the first time. Although I felt that I should give it justice and re-read it. So many other people have read it and they said they enjoyed it a lot. I thought they were crazy but I see where they are coming from now. For the first time, I have actually re-read a book, I have never done it before because I always think I wont be surprised with what I read, because I knew everything that was going to happen, but re-reading a book can be very beneficial and enjoyable, especially when its been such a long time since the last time you read it.

Not an Orrdinary Love Poem (Poetry Reaction #5)

 

 

 Not an Ordinary Love Poem

For this poetry reaction I asked a very good friend of mine to tell me one of her favorite poems, since I had already used my favorite ones. She had told me to read “Having A Coke With You” By Frank O’Hara was a great poem to read, and so before I started my search for this poem, I thought about  what the poem could possibly be about. I thought it was possible that it could be about a son wanting to share a coke with his father, or vise versa. Sharing a coke with someone doesnt seem intimate so I was surprised when I actually read the poem and found that it wasn’t like that. Its actually a very funny type of love poem.

The tone of the poem is very lighthearted, the speaker is describing his love for someone by using words that usually wouldn’t be found in a love poem. He doesn't describe this person as someone that is extremely perfect, he tells them that there is one painting that is beautifuler then them. “I look at you and I would rather look at you than all the portraits in the world except possibly for the Polish Rider occasionally.” Its quite different from other love poems, especially love poe Shakespeare has written. He compares people to the sun, the speaker in O’Hara’s poem is more realistic and it shows, they are just a normal person that has love for another person.

The true meaning of this poem, I believe is not the thing that you are doing, its the people you are doing it with. Something as little as drinking a coke can be so enjoyable as long as you're with the one person you love.  Its about how it doesn’t matter what you do in your life, just who you do with it. I also like the fact that he mentions how he hopes to go see his favorite poem with this loved one. “ Anyway it's in the Frick which thank heavens you haven't gone to yet so we can go together the first time” It just something as small as going to a museum to see paintings, can be very enjoyable, if your with the right person. I wouldn’t want to go to something like a concert, which is usually very enjoyable for people, if I was alone, I would want to be with my friends. I would probably even enjoy going somewhere as boring as a waiting room if I was with my friends.

“Not going to go wasted on me which is why I am telling you about it” This line truly confused me at first. I believe now he is saying that he is trying to say that he has not made a mistake in choosing the person he wants to ‘share a coke with’ unlike the artists who picked the wrong person to pose for their art. They could have picked more suitable people, people that would have made the painting even better, but instead they rushed into it and didn't take their time in choosing, and they were stuck with someone. The speaker is trying to say that you can't rush into things like love, you’ll soon realize that you aren’t truly happy with them

. Its actually quite funny that my friend had picked this poem, she doesn’t seem like someone to read love poems. Its possible that she relates to it, she must realize that the poem is about someone that loves another person, but isn't over the moon for that person. They love them for their small things, like their love for yogurt, which is a strange reason to love someone for. The speaker seems really laid back a lot like my friend. The speaker likes this person for the little things they do, but realizes they aren’t perfect, or extremely amazing. He wanted to express to his readers that it is possible to love someone that isn’t extraordinary.

From His Sons Idol, To a Terror (Reaction #5)

                                      From His Sons Idol, To a Terror

 

Playwright Arthur Miller wrote his second play -of many- in 1949, titled “Death Of A Salesman.”  The play sets us in Brooklyn, New York, in a small apartment where an older couple lives. At this time their two sons have come to visit, and the readers learn about the tension between everyone. Arthur Miller uses characterization of his protagonists to show the  readers how he has become who he is in the play, from a loving caring father, to a crazy over worked grump.  Arthur Miller also gives his readers  a sense of their past by creating flashbacks in a very unique way.

The play starts off with an introduction into the play, it states how the actors and actresses would perform on the stage. Since, technically it was set in two different times, present and past, Miller needed a way to show his audience that they were in the past, without outright saying so. He created fluent transitions into the past and ‘present.’  It was very unique way to show a flashback, the actors didn't even have to step off stage, they would just be in the past and the audience would know. The actors would step through the non-existing walls in the past, but only step through the doors in the present. Miller must have realized his audience would have gotten bored of the play if they had to fade the lights each time he wanted to show a flashback.

Millers characters made me feel so many emotions, I felt hatred but also sorry for the father figure Willy Loman. He actually reminded me of my own dad at times in the play, he's a hard person to like.  Willy, like my father complains a lot! Less than 5 pages into the book he is already complaining about something stupid, that annoys him.  “The street is lined with cars” this sentence has come out of both my fathers and Willys mouth. In my father’s case we live on a generally empty block, so to have more than one car for each house on our block at anytime is torture to him. Its crazy that Willy’s wife puts up with him, she cares so much about him! She’s such a sweet lady, who tries to care for everyone, not just her husband, but her two sons who are never around, and don't have jobs. She’s a lot like my mother honestly, very caring, and puts up with a lot of stuff. Its easy to sympathise with Biff, the eldest son, he was put so much pressure on him as a child to be great that now, anything he does is seen as horrible.

Biff is just trying to find his way in the world and it seems like the one person that he ever idolized, his own dad, is no longer supportive of him.  Although Biff did grow up with everything handed to him, such as test answers from his cousin, and he would steal sporting equipment to stealing lumber from construction sites.  His charm was the only reason he got any where in life, every girl loved him for his looks, and people trusted him because of his appearance, he grew up thinking he was so great, because everyone told him so. As he grew up he realized he didn't know where he was going, he was lost. I often feel like this as well. I feel very lost, I don't know what I want to be when I grow up, or if I even have a future in anything.

Miller created characters that people can really connect to, they might even find themselves in the characters.  Everyone knows that extremely nice person, that does everything for everyone, and puts up with a lot. Then theres people that complain about everything and expect everything to just be handed to them and be perfect. They expect everyone else to be just like them, perfect, flawless. Except no one is like them because they are the most imperfect people there are. Lastly there are those people that are just lost, they don’t know what to do with their life, they think they’ve come to a dead end. They don't know where else to go. I wonder where Miller would have put himself.

King of All Kings (Poetry Reaction #4)

 

The poem “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley describes to its reader a far away antique land. A  traveler visiting a new land finds an ear to listen to him, the traveler tells this person of a statue of a King, who is long gone. Although the statue was created by a distinguished sculptor, all features sticking out, so much so that the traveller can remember them all and describe it to the listener, it now lays cracked open and in ruins. This poem shows how even a very powerful leader can be forgotten, no matter how long they ruled for, how large their kingdom was, and if they have statues created for them or not, for the most part they are forgotten.

The speaker calls the land that the traveller is from an antique land, it gives off the imagery of an old antique vase to me. One that sits on a shelf high above everything else, far away. Its dusty because no one touches it, afraid it might break. No one really thinks about it, but it still sits there and once and a while there is talk about it and what is painted on it, and how interesting it is. The statue that sticks out of the sand “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone/ Stand in the desert.” that’s the painting thats on the vase. The statue just stands there in this land that no one seems to visit anymore because its so antique, the only person that talks about is the traveller.

        The statue itself is now surrounded by nothing and yet the pedestal still reads “Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” Its almost Ironic. The King, Ozymandias, the great and powerful, king of kings no longer matters, his whole kingdom is just surrounded by remains that once were probably his kingdom. All thats left is lone and level sand. There is no longer anything thats mighty about this king and yet the statue is still there, like a mockery.

        This king probably deserves what has come to him “sneer of cold command” He was probably one of those kings that let all the power go to his head. He may have even been the reason for his kingdoms downfall. The traveller speaks of this statue like he’s telling him a lesson, or warning. Although you may feel great and powerful at one point in your life, all of that power will one day mean nothing. Even if your name was written on a statue, written on a book,  or even written in stone, one day none of that will matter. Your whole kingdom you have created wont matter, because life goes on around you, present or not. When the humans one day die out, the earth will continue to turn, the plant life will continue to grow, animals will continue to live, because even though we have so much power, it will one day not matter.

Streetcars, Lies and Jazz Music (Reaction paper #4)

                                  “The Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams

“The Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams was a play written in 1947. The play takes place in New Orleans in a humble town, the houses and apartments weathered gray but they all hold their own charm. 1947 was a time in New Orleans when the race disputes were already settled down, Jazz was picking up and streetcars were electrified  so that they could run on wires. The play “The Streetcar Named Desire” shows us a humble home with only two rooms, where our protagonists Stella and Stanley live, and visiting Stella’s Sister Blanche. The living quarters is the backdrop where many lies, abuse, both physical and emotional, and rape all take place throughout the play.

    Plays are one of the greatest forms of literature, next to poems, in my own opinion. They may be short, but they are able to pack so much into them without getting too crowded and boring. There is always so much symbolism and little hints in plays, its amazing how Williams was able to fit everything in, in only eleven scenes.  I also love plays because of the acting that comes with them! Although It was sadly only me reading so all I could do was change my voice every time a different character spoke.  I also love how authors of plays describe their scenery, I feel like they put more effort into it then novel writers. I always feel  I’m there in the scene or when I read it I am slowly transported into this new place. Play writers have to be more descriptive with their settings because it would have to be recreated on a big stage.

    When it comes to plays everything is deliberate, the setting, the background noises, and even the lighting. The music you hear throughout the play is put there on purpose by Williams. There is no doubt about it, obviously he knew what he was going, it wasn’t at all random. The background music go’s with the dialogue, when speech picks up the music is fast and loud, but when there is a pause in dialogue the music stops. In the play its Blanches idea to have the lights low so her possible romantic relation can not tell that she is older than she acts, and more used and weathered herself. The dim lights make for a romantic mood as well, especially with a candle lit.  The harsh lights from the train show the romantic setting being transformed into a bothered scene where there is no longer romance. Its amazing how many things are put into place in this play.

    Besides the scenery of the play many different types of subject matter also rise up, like lying. Blanch is the main liar of the play, most words that came out of her mouth were lies. She lied about her job, her love life and even what she had been doing with her life. Its funny because the character herself was acting, Blanche was acting like a better Blanche. Its sad though, all her lying caused distrust from everyone towards her. When it really mattered no one believed her and what she was saying, or at least no one wanted to. It was a very ‘boy cries wolf’ situation, liars probably regret lying once its too late, and everyone has lost trust in them.

    Finally, my least favorite part of the play is when abuse comes up between Stella and Stanley. Although the play was written it a different time than what we’re in now, its still crazy how Stella refused to leave Stanley even though he hit her, and abused her.  The men of the house have more power in this time period, more than the women. They make the rules and when a woman stepped out of line the men took action.  Of course spouses will always fight, theres no question about it, when two people live together they begin to get aggravated with each other. Though it should never go as far as physical abuse, the only part that Blanche was right about was Stella leaving her abusive husband, its not the right environment for anyone.

    Williams created an amazing play, it was filled with so much but never had a dull moment. He really made me feel for the characters, and then ever hate some of them. I love how Eunice character develops into someone who was just outside of the house to a close friend of Stella, who helps her in many ways. I also really liked Mitch, he was so sweet and innocent and cared for his mother, not even when he was drunk was he really that bad, he was just upset. He had been lied to by Blanche, the person he actually thought he would marry. I think this play really changed my view on plays, before the only one I had read that wasn't in shakespearean was “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller. That was also an amazing play but I didn't realize at that time if it also had all these extra elements. I had probably missed so many!